beyond the rainbow

beyond the rainbowby Chloe Harvey

Beyond the rainbows, here’s the toll COVID took on an NHS worker. Rainbows. The UK loved to use them during the pandemic. They became a national symbol of appreciation for the NHS, tirelessly helping those suffering with COVID-19.

How did the pandemic affect healthcare staff, the ‘key worker’ heroes in the darkness of a global catastrophe? Did the heart of the nation boost morale? As the nation begins to gain a glimpse of life beyond the masks, an NHS worker shares her thoughts.

During the pandemic, Tracey Cullerne was a Matron in two Gloucestershire hospitals. “The unpredictability of COVID was hard to cope with at times,” she said. “I was sometimes afraid I would catch [it], become incredibly sick and need hospital care. There was a risk I might notsurvive. If this happened, how would my family and children cope?”

She added - “I had staff that became very sick and required Intensive Care support. I know I cried at this point, as I knew I needed to come into work and support my teams, knowing their friend and work colleague may not survive. It was very scary and a real challenging time for all staff.”

Staff were given help for their wellbeing when they felt low, and not just through services. There was a 2020 Hub that signposted support and websites, such as counselling. NHS workers were also given a 50% subsidy on cafeteria food, free parking, free sleep and relaxation apps. There were also ‘wobble rooms’ available for workers. Cullerne said, “we created [these] rooms which were a safe space where staff could go to have a break, drink, rest, cry or whatever time out they needed. In these rooms were drinks, snacks, and ‘positive notes’ that staff could read to one another.” How did workers balance their mental health with their duties? Cullerne said that while access to support services was provided, there seemed to be a shared mindset in staff. “I think atthe time we all worked on ‘autopilot’ to get on with the job we had. There was a feeling that ‘we are all in this together,’ which encouraged everyone to work as a team - to deliver care and do whatever was necessary to ensure patients were treated.”

Cullerne added: ‘It’s not until you take time to reflect on this that you start to consider the impact on yourself, your job and your family or friends. Looking after yourself was encouraged by the Trust, however the true impact of COVID on the workforce is only now becoming more apparent.” The ‘Clap for Carers’ was one small way the public applauded the NHS. A seemingly kind gesture, however, was criticised by some for being ‘hypocritical’. On this matter, Cullerne said: “many staff felt it raised awareness of the importance of the NHS and how it’s always been taken for granted. It gave staff the opportunity to see people that lived in their street for 10mins every Thursday.” Cullerne added: “some staff felt appreciated and said they felt it was uplifting and motivating.” u

the expectation to drink

The UK has a fierce drinking culture. We drink all the time. There is always a reason to drink. It’s your birthday? Drink. It’s the weekend? Drink. You just finished work? Drink. You’re going to the footy? Drink. We forget that alcohol is a drug. It is something that is technically not supposed to go in our body but it’s legal, so we act like doesn’t matter.

Approximately 57% (according to a 2017 survey) of adults drink alcohol. Of course, it’s fun, it brings people together, everything is hilarious and you might feel truly free when you’re drunk but this constant pairing of socialising and drinking needs to stop. It already has some pretty devastating consequences but it could so easily get worse.

It is simply just too easy to get drunk. We find particularly as young people that if we are enjoying ourselves, the best way to do that is to not be sober. This mentality effects millions of people across the UK. The accessibility of this drug is probably what is most responsible for it. Almost every food providing business offers alcohol.

A person who may be incredible financially insecure will happily buy a few pints a week because that is what they do when they meet their mates. The normality of this activity dulls people to the reality of it. A few pints a week, using the estimate that the average price of a pint in the UK costs £4.07 and that a person (whose social life is going to the pub) would go to the pub twice and buy 2/3 pints, that is about £20 a week and £80 a month.

It is strange to think that this liquid that makes you feel good can suck hundreds of pounds out of a person’s pocket just because everybody likes it. For young people that ability once you turn 18 to have such an exciting element of their social life just sets off that need for it to be in your life. Alcohol is and will always be everywhere.

What drags people in is how fun the

the expectation to drink

drug is but what often keeps people there is the peer pressure. If you say you’re not drinking for one reason or another someone will almost always utter the dangerous two words… “just one”. It never is JUST one, you know that, I know that, everyone knows that. So why do we continue to do it and end up pressuring those who are doing what is best for them to drink.

It is such a normal thing to do that we forget all of the negatives in order to justify the constant obsession with drinking. Hangovers can ruin a day but because you got the confidence to finally kiss the girl you wanted to for months it’s okay. Your liver isn’t built to take the battering it does from alcohol. So why do we do it? Because we force ourselves to justify it because everyone else does.

It is so easy to list all the negatives of the insane cultural phenomena but what is it that needs to change?

I think it’s quite obvious. Stop pressuring your mates to drink. Why it isn’t really recognised is because it never comes from a negative place. The pressure is often simply because everybody wants to be on the same wave length. Realistically if one person is sober, they probably won’t end up dancing their heart out in the worst nightclub in your town or be there for the dirty kebab on the walk home and those are some of our fondest memories. And you want your best mate to be there for it. It comes from a place of love but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing

This drug does create amazing situations but we need to normalise having fun without alcohol and taking pride in those other forms of enjoyment. Of course, still go out and have fun but remember that you don’t have to drink the moment anything happens and learn to enjoy how fun being sober is. Tackle those things that are hard without liquid courage. The world is beautiful, make the most of it sober.u